Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Dataphiles, a resident of South London, is an independent music producer, sound designer, and self-proclaimed Reaktor mangler. Utilizing an astounding amount of textures, Dataphiles manages to create a very unique sound amongst electronic artists. Blurring the lines between conventional traits of digital audio workstation productions, it's quite apparent through sounds used, this artist is a lover of music.

As stated on his Bandcamp page:

"Steampunk Cybercrunk is based on the concept of two realities colliding: the alternate past of infinite opportunity that is Steampunk and the laser laden, futuristic but dystopian world of Cyberpunk. It combining elements of electro-swing, dubstep, house and classical music to create a fresh approach to the electronica EP."

While I do feel this album does represent two different worlds of audible nourishment, it feels much more vast than that. Each track feels like a strong representation of influence, even if it's hazy on where it came from or how it functioned in the grand scheme of the album's tone. Which truly makes me think that even the slightest, shortest sample picked up by our senses can create the most dramatic of differences in how we perceive audio in any given space or time.

Bell ringer? Electro-Swing is in the house. If you're a fan of Parov Stelar, The McMash Clan, or Gramatik...you're going to dig this. The chopped up brass contorted with sidechaining basses and all manner of unusual percussion make this a delightful groove that doesn't take much effort to jive to. And while it does progress and add variety to the percussion throughout the tune, it doesn't really introduce much melodic variation. Subtle diversity enumerates growth in a artistic expression and while I do feel this is a tune meant mainly for the dance floor - and not at an isolated location in a garage - hearing it as a critic/nit-picker: the inclusion of a key change might've worked well at 2:45 after the breakdown.
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Emphasizing a much darker, minor tone, "Remember Me" reminds me of early Unreal Tournament music. A driving, murky tune that accentuates mellow yet distressing hints of general eeriness. It's hard to pin down a mood for this one, honestly. It's like if Nine Inch Nails mixed with Maniacs of Noise. Not much else to say about this one, I can dig it!
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Oh yes, breaks. Breakbeat. Breakwinning more like it. I love breaks, everything about them gets me hyped up for something. This song, introducing - as you might have guessed - a synthesized harp, creates a familiar yet distant approach to a genre I cherish greatly. Good chopping on the drums, the disjointed breakdown (at 2:04) really adds an uncommon rhythm to this style of music. Reminiscent of a good friend of mine...this song hits a soft spot for me, and is my favorite track on this collection. I'd gladly listen to this song over and over and over.
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"Waltzing with the Devil":
<a href="http://music.dataphilesmusic.com/album/steampunk-cybercrunk">Steampunk Cybercrunk by Dataphiles</a>

Being the longest track on the EP, it's no surprise that it also features the most amount of variation of any track. So here's my narrative take on this track: A robot, a self aware robot named B0b was slumping his way across the dystopian, futuristic city of Kwan Loong, when he came across a hooded figure on the side of the street. The hooded figure began talking to B0b, but when he couldn't understand (not being programmed to understand English), the hooded figure began playing a tune on his fiddle. With excitement, B0b walked with the stranger, understanding very little of this magical talent when the hooded figured handed the fiddle to B0b, and struck a deal saying, "My power could be yours, if your free-will is bound to me." B0b looked at the stranger and glared back at the fiddle, analyzing the hooded figure's lip movement to the electromagnetic pulses emitted by the fiddle and suddenly figured out the intention. In an instant, the robot had gained all he needed recreating a history of all the previous notation that had been played by the hooded figure, and handed back the fiddle...walking off into the distance.

A very pleasant and original tune, this one.
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This is certainly one of the more original albums to head in my general direction. I'm always happy to hear something new but I'm obligated to review accurately. The general production of this album is good: There is no clipping and all tracks remain sonically cohesive. The tracks serve as a platter of unique resonance and for the most part, it would be enjoyable to everyone who doesn't wish to listen with a sense of constructive criticism in mind. While I would've preferred a bit more headroom in "Harpsix" to widen the sound of the track, that does not make it a bad track. Production and arrangement are two very different things, and if the world listened more closely to the two elements presented in most digital music...it'd be a happier place. Or not.

Regardless, this is an album that is worth listening to, in my honest opinion. The potential for this artist can only grow from here and I anticipate hearing his future endeavors!

Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Hailing from Buffalo, NY, Postać debuts on the DjjD blog with his new album titled, "Finding My Home". Having 8 years of musical experience with various instruments, this artist released a 10 track collection of the deep, chilling tones of icy coolness. As I write this, it's snowing outside at a chilly 28 F, this album fits more than you might realize. It may not be the largest album I've ever reviewed, but man, the tracks really hit the spot for me.

"Finding My Home," really sets the foundation aesthetic for the whole album. A nice intro, complimented with a wide yet glassy pad which in turn introduces all of the floating, delicate melodies surrounding the percussion which, despite it's simple texture to the song...totally works in this case. Is your house an igloo? There's such a crystalline glow about this song, it's hard to describe but, imagine someone tapping on tuned, transparent wine tasting glasses and that's about as close as I can get to a description. This is great and it also, reminds me of another song, who is from a really good friend of mine. I could, see a collaboration happening.

Only getting better from there, the next track, "The Clock Keeps Ticking", really emphasizes the glassy feel from the first but somehow manages to represent a total change in structure and mixing. Now I could be wrong, but it feels like a lot of time when by between the production of the first track and the second one, there's a vast improvement here. Things feel much wider and thus...envelopes the listener more.

I took a few moments to ask Postac his background in music and ask if there was anything he'd like to say to his fans:

"Postac is from Buffalo New York.Postac started in middle school as the creator, lead singer, and guitarist for the punk rock band Tripod Black. The band dissolved shortly after perusing a B.A. in Music Industry where Postac honed his musical skills in classical guitar, jazz, and classical composition.Postac has been writing and composing music for a little over 8 years.Greenday was the band that inspired Postac into music with their album American Idiot. Music from the 80's and 90's from the U.S. and Europe (having lived there for 3 years) has been a huge influence, so artist like Peter Shilling, Coldplay, Dido, Roysopp, to name a few have been heavy inflences. Also music from Kenai Kawai, Philip Glass, Baden Powell, and Charlie Parker have been inspiring and influential."

You know when I started this blog, I wanted to find music I could relate with. I wanted to find artists that could challenge my perception as a critic to find better qualities in instrumentation, arrangement, and whatever else. The goal? It'd be as much of a learning experience for me as well as a promotional advantage for whoever I'd be writing about. I'd be gaining new insights for different types of music and how artists ebb and flow across a digital or analog workstation while it might help them out to be exposed to the people I've met, who might read this blog.

Most times, it's a really easy process. Pure honesty here folks. You take a few tunes, you listen to them over and over until you're singing them in your head without help from speakers/headphones. You judge, you decide, you make several inquisitions and you piece together the results of what you've appreciated or disliked from your pros 'n cons chart.

This album, "Finding My Home" relates to those paragraphs in a way that well...it's kind of existential. Music is freeing, yet the more you travel down the path of a composer/producer, the more away from "home" it feels like. This album is definitely one of the best I've had the pleasure to listen to in 2015 so far. It's chilling, soothing, unique, and it provides classy production.

About Me

Well hello there! Welcome to my blog. This is the official blog of DjjD Studios. The topics may vary, the stories may be diverse, but this is definitely all by yours truly, Jacob Diaz. I know you're thinking to yourself...why should I keep reading and you're absolutely right to think that! Is this blog going to just be gibberish, nonsensical statements and tangents off of tangents? Yes! It is! However, when I'm not being ridiculous...this is where I post music I've discovered and where I'll be doing complete reviews of albums that I encounter. So if you like music, then that alone, is a real reason you should stay to read. I promise you my writing isn't that bad, it's certainly more legible than spelling out words in your Chef Boyardee's alphabet pasta! Good day!